Ten years before he won "Top Chefs Masters" in an upset victory, Ethiopian-born Swede Marcus Samuelsson conquered the New York dining world with his contemporary take on Scandinavian cuisine at Aquavit in New York City, and later Minneapolis (since closed). Later, he took on the challenges of Japanese fusion (Riingo), gourmet hamburgers (Marc Burger) and modern American seafood (C-House).
Q You have such a diverse background. What are your best food memories?
A Sunday dinners with my family at my grandmother's house [in Göteborg, Sweden] where we all had our jobs to do. She might cook a pork roast stuffed with prunes and serve it with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts and carrots. Very basic. Maybe we started with a lentil soup and then had apple cake served with a sauce for dessert. It was all very rustic and made from scratch. We had luxury and didn't even know it.
Q What do you think about the Swedish cooking in the United States.?
A I love meeting Scandinavian-Americans and seeing Swedish restaurants in the States. But I do think there is a difference between Scandinavian-American cooking and the cooking in Scandinavia today. The cooking here reflects what food was like in Sweden 150 or 100 years ago, with lutefisk and a lot of dishes we don't eat anymore. But then there are certain dishes like meatballs from Ikea that we all still eat.
Q What was it like to cook the Obamas' first state dinner?
A I worked very closely with the First Lady months in advance to plan for the state dinner and think about what we would provide for the Indian prime minister. We also talked a lot about childhood obesity and health and what we could serve from the White House garden. When you are gathering food from the garden, the meal could not be more farm-to-table. It's amazing to be gathering food to cook that night and look over and see the Oval Office.
Q How have the First Lady's campaigns changed the food conversation in the United States?
